Mail-bag catcher and deliverer.



No. 844,527. PATENTEDFEB. 19, 1907. A. L. LOGAN W. E GREENE. MAIL BAG OATGHER ,AND DBLIVERER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5, 1905.

4 INVENTORS 2 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

co, WASHINGTON, n. c.

No. 844,527. I PATENTED EEE.19, 1907.

A. L. LOGAN & w. F. GREENE, MAIL BAG GATOHER AND DELIVERER.

APPLIOATION E'ILED DEO.5,1-905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES I rm: NORRIS PETERS cm. vmsnmcnm, u. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALTON L. LOGAN AND WILLIAM F. GREENE, OF WASHINGTON, INDIANA.

MAIL-BAG CATCI- IER AND DELIVERER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 5, 1905. Serial No. 290.450.

' Patented Feb. 19, 1907.

To all whom it puny concern:

Be it known that we, ALTON L. LOGAN and WILLIAM F. GREENE, citizens of the United States, residing at Washington, in the county of Daviess and State of Indiana, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Mail-BagCatcher and Deliverer, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to a .device for delivering and receiving sacks of mail at stations at which no stop is made by the mailtrain.

The object of the invention 1S to provide a mail deliverer and catching device by means 'of which mail-sacks can be simultaneously exchanged, one being delivered to the station from the train and one being received by the train, the receipt and delivery of the sacks being accomplished substantially by one device.

The invention consists of the novel features of construction hereinafter fully set forth, pointed out in the claims, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of our device, showing the delivery of one sack. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view illustrating the construction of a portion of the delivery-arm carried by a mail-car. Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of a portion of said arm, a ring adapted to support the mail-sack being shown in cross-section. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the station receiving-arm. Fig. 5 is a detail view "of a portion of said arm, the horizontal portion being in section. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a casting carried by the car-door.

Fig. 7.

In these drawings, A represents a bar rotatably journaled upon a side of the car pargallel thereto and adjacent a doorway. The

bar A has an outwardly-extending arm A at right angles to the bar, which for convenience will be termed the "delivery-arm.

'-When in use, this arm is held in a horizontal which is in engagement with a bolt A carried by a casting A, secured to the frame of the car-door. At the outer end of the arm A is an upwardly-extended standard A, from the upper end of which projects a forwardly and downwardly extending receivingarm A", terminating, at its free end in a spearhead A. The standard A also carries a rearwardly-eXtending arm A, inclined slightly downward and much shorter than the receiving-arm A. Upon the rear face of the standard A is secured a plate B, which at its upper end terminates in a nose B, extending rearwardly and spaced from the standard A The under face of the arm A has a leafspri'ng C secured thereto, the free end of the spring being slightly curved and resting upon the nose B. standard A is secured a plate D, provided with a nose D, and in advance of said plate is secured a spring D the free end portion of which is curved and which extends toward the nose D. The partsabove described are carried by the mail-car and are duplicated upon opposite sides of the car, being made right and left handed for that purpose, as

Upon the rear sides of the will be clearly understood. While the object of these parts is to receive a mail-sack from the station as well as to deliver one, it will avoid confusion to refer throughout to the parts A, A and A under the general term of the delivery-arm, and to refer to the coacting parts located at the station as the receiving-arms.

At the place where the mail isto be exchanged a post E is erected, and to this post are secured in vertical alinement brackets E, in which brackets is vertically j ournaled a rotatable rod F, which intermediate its ends carries a horizontal extending arm F. A coil-spring G is placed upon the upper por tion of the rod F, and the upperend of the spring bears upon the journal portion of the upper bracket E, while the lower end of the spring bears upon the arm F, a tendency of the spring being to force the rod downwardly,

and thus throw the arm F into a lower horizontal plane.

In order to lock the arm in the proper plane and at the proper angle to the track, we secure to the post E a bracket H, which carries an arm H, centrally cut out and bent transversely or parallel to the front face of the post E. The extreme outer tip of the arm H is therefore in a higher horizontal position by a chain A the upper link of plane than its sides at points diametrically opposite the center of the cut-out portion,

end reduced and rounded, as shown at J in from the sides of the arm F.

Fig. 5, the said end being journaled in the perforation of the arm F. To look the standard J against rotation upon the arm F,

the arm is notched, as shown at F upon each side, and the portion J is perforated in alinement with said notches. A locking-pin J 2 is adapted 'to pass through the perforation of the portion J and to rest in the notches F thereby locking the standard J against rotation upon the arm F. To prevent loss, the locking-pin J 2 is secured to the arm F by a suitable chain F The standard J carries upon its forward face an upwardly and outwardly extending lip J and extendingrearwardly the standard J carries a downwardly-inclined receiving-arm J, which is provided at its free end with a 'double prong J the prongs extending back over the arm. The arm F is recessed, as shown at F in Fig. 10, preferably by cuttingv the arm out transversely and placing perforated plates F over the cut-out portion, and in the recess thus formed is transversely arranged a coilspring K, the ends of which bear upon the heads of pins K,which pins project outwardly through the perforations in the plates F Upon each side of the plate F and adjacent the said pins K are secured plates L, pro vided with laterally-extending lips L, spaced In use both the deliveryarm and the receivingarm are thrown into a horizontal position and in approximately the same horizontal plane, though it will be noted that the highest point of the receiving-arm A carried by thezdelivery-arm A and standard A is slightly higher than any part of the lip J 3 of the receiVing-arm.

In operation the sacks of mail are received and delivered in the following manner: A ring M is employed of such a diameter that it can be in engagement at the same time with both the delivery-arm carried by the car and the receiving-arm carried by the post E. The mail-sack is secured to this ring by means of a strap M passed around the sack, and a snap-hook M. In order to deliver a sack from the car to the receivingarm at the station, the ring M is slipped into the seat formed by the nose B of the plate B, the standard A and the arm A", where it is held against accidental disengagement with the spring C, which will bear upon the ring, as shown in Fig. 3. At a second point the ring is also held between the nose D of the plate D and the spring D The sack of mail is then connected to the ring by means of the snap-hook M and the strap M and the arm A lowered into the horizontal position..

(shows in Fig. 1'. A the as thus 'ca ried at the outer end of the arm approaches 1 'thearm F it is engaged by the arm J and guided by the said arm to the lip J with which the ring becomes engaged, and it is then immediately withdrawn from engagement with the nose B and lip D. The 1'6 7 ceiving-arm is then thrown into the position 1 indicated at pc in Fi 7. At the same time that this operation as taken place a sack supported by a similar ring M has been received by the car. M Was'placed in position, a portion of it resting in the lip J 3 and a portion of it resting within the lip. L on the proper sides ofthe: I a arm F, the ring being held in such position Itwill be noted from Fig. 7' that the arm A is of greater length than the by thepin K.

In this last case the ring] arm J and it has already been. stated that the highest point of the arniA was above the highest point of the lip J As the arm A approaches the post E it will enter the ring M and the ring will ride up upon the said arm and be lifted from the lip J and withdrawn from engagement with the lip L and pin K and will be carried upon the arm A.

It can then be readily removed from the said arm by the mail-clerk, who draws the armA inwardly by meansof the'chain A In I 1 order to lock the arm A inan upright position when the device is not in use, we place,

acasting 0 upon the'frame of the car-door below the casting A and thisv casting 19p I vided Withupper and lower alining lugs 0, through which pass bolts 0 By'liftingup the outermost bolt 0 as the'arm A is i brought into vertical position the end portion of the arm A will move in-between the lugs; I O and rest against the'inner bolt 0 By dropping the other bolt back intoposition the I armA will be securely locked between the lugs O by the two bolts O one being on each side of the arm A and thearm A will therefore be prevented fromswinging either p outwardly orinwardly. a

It will be obvious thatin order'for'the postmaster at the station to receive mail from trains traveling in opposite directions a means must be provided forreversing porr15 I. accomplished by removing the bolt J? and tions of the receiving-arms. Thislis readily givin a one-half revolution to the standard J an then again locking the same in position by the bolt J InFig. 7 the dotted 1 lines indicated at 4 show the position into which thereceiving device is thrown when a sack has been delivered to it from a train ap-v proaching from a direction opposite that of I i the one referred to in the first'd escription of v 5 Having thus fully described our'invention' what we claim as new, and desire to secure by. H I

the operation of the device; I

Letters Patent, is.

. 1. In a device. of the'kind describecL'a vein- 7 'tically-swinging arm, avertical standard carried at the end of the arm, a forwardly and downwardly inclined receiving-arm carried by the standard, a re arwardly-extending arm carried by the standard, a plate carried by the rear face of the standard and terminating in a nose, a leaf-spring carried by the lastmentioned arm and engaging the nose, a plate having a nose carried by the first-mentioned arm, and a spring carried by said arm and having a free end in engagement with the nose of the last-mentioned plate.

2. A device of the kind described comprising a swinging arm carried by a car, a standard carried by said arm, lips carried by the arm and standard respectively and adapted to engage diflerent points upon a ring, a rece1v1ng-arm carried by the standard, and

parallel to the sides of the car, a horizontal swinging arm carried by a post, a standard carried by said horizontal arm, lips carried by the last-mentioned arm and standard respectively, and adapted to engage a ring at two different points, and a receiving-arm carried by the last-mentioned standard, and extending in the opposite direction to the first-1nentioned receiving-arm.

3. A device of the kind described comprising a vertically-swinging arm carried by a car, a standard carried at the free end of said arm, a forwardly and downwardly inclined receiving-arm carried by the said standard, a spear-head at the free end of said receivingarm, an oppositely-extending arm carried by the standard, a plate having a lip carried by the standard, a spring carried by the lastmentioned arm and adapted to coact with the lip, a plate having a lip carried by the vertically-swinging arm, a spring adapted to coact with said lip, a ring adapted to engage the said lips and springs and a receiving-arm adapted to enter said ring and disengage the same from the lips and springs.

4. The combination with a post, of brackets in vertical alinement, a rod journaled therein, a horizontally-extending arm carried by the rod, a spring bearing downwardly upon said arm and a bracket carried by the post and having an arm centrally cut out and bent to guide the first-mentioned arm, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A device of the kind described comprising a vertically-swinging arm carried by the car, astandard carried by said arm, a receiving-arm carried by the said standard and parallel to the sides of the car, fixed brackets supported adjacent a track, and in vertical alinement, a rotatable rod journaled in said brackets, an arm extending horizontally from said rod, a rotatable standard carried by said horizontal arm, means for locking the standard against rotation, a receiving-arm carried by said standard and extending in a'direction opposite to the first-mentioned receiving-arm, a ring, means for detachably connecting a mail-sack to said ring, means car? ried by both of the arms and both of the standards for engaging the ring and holding it in position to be engaged by one of the said receiving-arms.

ALTON L. LOGAN. WILLIAM F. GREENE. Witnesses:

JAooB W. CLARK, L. L. CLARK. 

